The present invention relates generally to the field of computer software, and, more particularly, to device driver software modules/components that permit a data processing system to communicate with a device.
Deregulation of telecommunications providers, new communications technologies, and the Internet have often been cited as important factors in bringing about increased competition in the delivery of telecommunications services. As a result of this increased competition, telecommunications providers have generally been under pressure to improve efficiency and cut costs and yet still maintain a high quality level of service for their customers. In this competitive environment, one area in which telecommunications providers may be able to gain a competitive edge is in the support systems that are used to operate, manage, and maintain the telecommunications networks. These support systems may be called operational support systems (OSS).
Broadly stated, an OSS for a telecommunications network may include software services that are used to support the operations of a telecommunications network. Three support areas that may be addressed by a telecommunications OSS are 1) provisioning and order management, 2) billing and customer support, and 3) service quality management. Provisioning and order management may include such functions as service activation, service order processing, and service provisioning. Billing and customer support may include such functions as data collection, retail and wholesale billing, bill compilation, and customer care. Finally, service quality management may include such functions as service level agreements (SLAs), quality of service delivery, fault management, performance monitoring, error analysis, and security.
In general, OSS software solutions have been developed to address a specific task domain, such as one of the three support areas cited above at the network and/or service level. Unfortunately, one problem that developers of service/network management systems may face is the ability to adapt in real-time to a new device in a network and/or to a new service technology whose performance may be evaluated based on different statistical parameters than have heretofore been collected from the network devices.